University of Maine Law School Creates Shur-Frinsko Award for Municipal Law and Local Governance

Award named after two prominent Maine attorneys - Bernstein Shur's Barnett I. Shur and F. Paul Frinsko

PORTLAND, Maine – The University of Maine School of Law Foundation announced that it has established the Shur-Frinsko Award for Municipal Law and Local Governance. The award is named after two prominent Maine attorneys, Barnett I. Shur and F. Paul Frinsko, in recognition of their achievement in the practice of law and their leadership in municipal law.

The Shur-Frinsko Award will be given each year to a student at the law school who has demonstrated academic excellence and accomplishment in the area of municipal law, land use, and local governance, with commitment to and capacity for further contribution to the field.

The award is made possible by the law firm of Bernstein Shur, the family of the late Barnett I. Shur, the Nelson & Small corporate family, the Walter Corey family, and a number of individual donors. Funds for this award will be held by the University of Maine School of Law Foundation and will be administered by the Director of Development at the University of Maine School of Law.

“The Shur-Frinsko Award provides a boost for the Law School’s role in local and regional affairs,” said Peter Pitegoff, Dean of the University of Maine School of Law. “It is a worthy honor for Barnett Shur and Paul Frinsko, and we are grateful for the generous support from their friends and colleagues, including the Shur family, the Nelson & Small corporate family, the Corey family, and the law firm of Bernstein Shur.”

In consultation with faculty, the Dean will select one law student each year to receive the award. The student chosen will receive a cash award and appropriate recognition.

Barnett I. Shur, who passed away in 1992, was a founding partner of Bernstein Shur and a pioneer in the area of municipal law.

Shur served as general counsel for the City of Portland for 25 years, and as Acting City Manager on several different occasions. He also represented countless smaller cities and towns and school systems throughout Maine. Shur appeared more than 25 times before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on behalf of various municipal litigants. Recognized on a national level as an expert in municipal law, Shur was elected President of the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers (NIMLO) in 1952. In that capacity, he signed a number of amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court representing various NIMLO members.

Shur also was President of the Cumberland County Bar Association, the Portland Jewish Community Center, the Portland Boys Club (including national office), and the United Way. He served as the first Chair of the Maine Land Damage Board, an administrative agency that determined fair awards in government taking procedures.

"Barney Shur invented the practice of municipal law in the state of Maine,” said Leonard M. Nelson, a founding partner of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson who has practiced at the firm for 45 years. “His skill and interest concentrated itself in the zone where public and private action intersected. He loved the fact that local decisions were made by local people through discussion, negotiation, compromise and, where necessary, legal action. He was truly unique because of his energy, his intelligence, his integrity, and most of all, his personal charm."

Shur was born in Lithuania and came to the United States as a young child. He graduated from Portland High School in 1922, Harvard College in 1926, and Boston University Law School in 1930. He married Clarice Geller of Montreal in 1937. They had two children, Janet and George, who both became attorneys. George Shur was a Bernstein Shur shareholder from 1967 to 1983.

F. Paul Frinsko, one of the leading municipal attorneys in the state, has practiced at Bernstein Shur his entire legal career. He was born in Albany in 1939, graduated from Middlebury College in 1961, served in the U.S. Army from 1962-1965 as a Captain in military intelligence, and then graduated with honors from the University of Maine School of Law in 1969. Frinsko joined Bernstein Shur that same year and quickly commenced a distinguished career as a municipal lawyer in the Barney Shur vein, whose protégé he became.
Frinsko has represented counties, municipalities, school districts, and water districts from Kittery to Fort Kent. He has acted continuously as Labor Counsel to the University of Maine, and acted as Special Counsel to the State of Maine in the long-running Indian Land Claims litigation.

"In the more than 25 years that I've worked with Paul Frinsko, I’ve found him to be a brilliant communicator who can explain difficult concepts to any audience,” said Charles E. Miller, Bernstein Shur’s managing shareholder. “As a municipal lawyer, Paul combines legal knowledge and innovation with pragmatism. He listens to his clients and understands how to guide while not imposing his point of view. Paul was one of the first to develop the Tax Increment Financing mechanism for municipalities as a tool to increase business investment. His innovations in the field are models for modern municipal law."

Frinsko continues to practice in Portland as Counsel to Bernstein Shur. He and his wife Linda have two children: Stephen, a realtor in Haley, Idaho; and Meredith, a computer consultant in Denver.

Over the last 40 years, the University of Maine School of Law has developed a reputation for graduating leaders in law, business, and public service in Maine and throughout the nation. For more information, visit www.mainelaw.maine.edu.

Bernstein Shur is one of northern New England’s largest full-service law firms, with more than 80 attorneys in Portland and Augusta, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire. Established in 1915, the firm provides practical legal counsel to a diverse group of public and private clients throughout the region and around the world. For more information, visit www.bernsteinshur.com.

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